reactions

After El Paso I began investigating how a border crisis, rising temperatures, disasters and the swirling political reactions to them were affecting the agendas and vigilante campaigns of the far right.

The sympathizers, who are to all appearances still innocuous fellow-citizens in a nontotalitarian society, can hardly be called single-minded fanatics; through them, the movements make their fantastic lies more generally acceptable, can spread their propaganda in milder, more respectable forms, until the whole atmosphere is poisoned with totalitarian elements which are hardly recognizable as such but appear to be normal political reactions or opinions.

Reporters for Punchbowl News and the Washington Post said the reactions from Republican and Democratic lawmakers ranged from surprise to amusement.

He has a certain Amelia Bedelia quality in which he takes every sarcastic quip of Jack’s literally, his reactions played for laughs that fall totally flat.

Hegseth's pick has been welcomed by a number of prominent Republican figures, but other reactions have been more varied.